These Tears Are Pearls
by pandorabox82
Summary: When Delores is made a new Reaper, it's up to George to take her under her wing and train her in the ways of Reaping. But how can she do that when the woman feels betrayed by her and is hardly speaking to her? Features the return of Rube!
1. Chapter 1

George looked at the Post-It note Rube handed her. While it had been odd that he had disappeared for some time after Der Waffle Haus had burnt down, and they had had to deal with that new head reaper, he was now back and everything was as it should be. Until she looked at that Post-It. "Delores? You want me to reap Delores?"

"Well, actually, Peanut, we're going to reap her together. She's going to become one of us. I got the orders today." Her eyes widened as she looked at him.

"And I suppose you want me to babysit her."

He shrugged. "The big guy seems to think she'll need a little extra hand-holding. Given how you've talked about her, I would have to agree in this case. Are you ready to head out?"

Reluctantly, she nodded and stood up, following him out to his car. While she had become accustomed to Delores over the years, even going so far as to build a quasi-friendship with her, she didn't know how she felt about being around her for the rest of eternity. Betty had been an anomaly, no one escaped this existence. And the façade of perpetual perkiness that Delores continued to wear would soon be grating.

They were silent on the drive over to Delores's home. As Rube parked in front of a little house surrounded by shrubs, George knew that this was going to be more difficult than she had anticipated. She tried to tell herself that she was losing her sarcastic streak, becoming overly sentimental and maudlin, but her inner voice wasn't listening to any of that today. Instead, she looked at the gravelings surrounding the house and shook her head sadly. This job would break her, she was certain of that.

"We have to go in now, Peanut. It's almost time." George nodded and leaned into the hand on her shoulder. Together, they walked up the sidewalk and onto her porch. George knocked softly on the door, waiting for Delores to make her appearance. The door opened minutes later and she watched the woman plaster a smile on her face.

"Millie! What are you doing here on a Saturday? And with your sponsor?" She tugged her robe closed around her chest, and for the first time, George took in the tear tracks on her face.

"I needed to talk to someone about my cravings, and Rube suggested it be you, since you're a fellow woman and all." The lie sounded lame to her own ears. After years of lying, everything was starting to sound hollow to her and she longed for the day when she could speak truth once more. If Rube was to be believed, then that was a long time off yet.

"Well, then, come inside, both of you." It seemed as if the perkiness was more forced today than normal, and George tried to smile as she nodded. Delores must have recognized something in that gesture, as she sighed and rubbed her upper arm gently. "Can I get you anything? Water, tea, coffee?"

"Water would be nice, Delores," Rube answered before George could say anything. Once the woman had left the room, he said lowly, "You're the one who's going to take her soul, I'm just here to explain why she won't be moving on. The overdose should be kicking in shortly."

"Overdose?" George hissed, looking at him askance.

"Unfortunately, yes. Sometimes sorrows build up on themselves until they are too heavy a burden to bear. She's going to try and shoo us out after we drink our obligatory glass. When you take it from her hand, take her soul as well. I'll handle the rest."

"Okay." She felt sick about having to do this, and again, she didn't know why. It's not like she was best friends with the woman, or anything ridiculous like that. She heard the soft sounds of footsteps, heard the slight hitch in the step that indicated the overdose was affecting her coordination. "Thanks, Delores." As she took the glass from her hand, she let her fingers skim over the back and she shuddered as she saw the familiar smoke wisp off her.

The woman took a seat in one of the uncomfortable looking chairs and nervously sipped at the water. There was a slight tremor to her grasp and George bit her lip. "You'll have to tell everyone at work that I'm sorry for not being there, when Monday comes. I'm afraid that I'm becoming sick."

George nodded, the lie making her stomach roil. "I hate to hear that, Delores. What will we do without your big brown eyes to watch over us?"

Their eyes met, and George saw the truth shining there. She wanted to cry, which was stupid, it wasn't like Delores was a family member. Yet there was something heartbreaking about her being so alone, even at the end of her life. "I'm sure you'll find someone just as suitable for the job."

George nodded slightly, sipping at her water before looking at her watch. "Where's your bathroom?

"Just down the hall. It has a kitty door, so M-Murray could use his litter box when the door was closed." She nodded again, trying to blink back tears as she stood and left the room, unable to watch Delores die. She's already taken her soul, wasn't that enough?

She stayed in the bathroom long enough for Rube and the gravelings to accomplish their mission and then rejoined them. It was odd to see the dead body and the new spirit form of Delores together. "You!" she hissed out as she pointed at George. "All along you've been my Millie? I can't believe I trusted you. I can't work with her, I don't care what you say."

George tried to hide the pain Delores's words caused her, but she was sure Rube had noticed the look before she could put up her mask. "Well, be that as it may, you need a babysitter, since you are a fresh Reaper. If there's anything you want to take with you from the house, I'd pack it up now. You have twenty minutes."

Delores nodded once and disappeared upstairs. "Rube, this is not going to work out."

"Come here, Peanut." He opened up his arms and she willingly stepped into them, letting him hug her tightly. "You are still the Millie she came to care for, that was your personality that you put out there for her to like. It's just going to take her time to see your heart behind your face. There is an inherent sadness in all of us, and she'll see that, eventually."

George tried to nod as she let a few tears escape. "This is going to really suck, isn't it?"

"Probably. But that's life for you." He kissed her forehead lightly and let go of her. "Now, do you think you can muddle through this for me?"

"I suppose." She tried to pull her sullen expression back over her face, but knew that it was no use, she was too torn up over someone who shouldn't even matter to her in the scheme of things. Exactly twenty minutes later, Delores reappeared with a large suitcase and two duffle bags in her arms.

"I'm ready," she said, not looking at George. "Where are we going?"

"To your new home, where you can drop off your things, and then to the DMV to get you set up with a new identity. After that, it's off to our meeting house so that we can get you introduced to everyone and explain some of the rules to you."

Delores nodded twice, choppy movements so unlike her normal self, and once more, George felt things she shouldn't, and she lowered her chin to her chest, trudging after Rube and the other woman. As they put Delores's bags in the trunk, George climbed in the back seat, curling up in a ball as she stared unseeing at the grey Seattle sky.


	2. Chapter 2

Rube pulled to a stop in front of George's house. "Here we are, ladies. Would you like some help inside, Delores?"

The woman shook her head and opened the door, hopping out of the car. Rube pushed the button to open the trunk and looked at George in the rearview mirror. "You have ten minutes, Peanut."

"If I'm not back in that amount of time, come looking for me. Even if she can't kill me." George stepped out and went to the trunk, taking the handle of the suitcase and pulling it out. "Follow me, I'll show you up to your room."

Delores gave her a jerky nod and bit her lip. George knew that she was itching to get away from her, and so she said nothing as she led her up to Daisy's old room. She and Mason had taken off on another assignment, and while she missed him, she wasn't sorry to see the back of her. "Are there fresh linens anywhere?"

"In the linen closet. But there's not much of a choice, I'm afraid. Sheets are expensive." George shrugged and Delores just shook her head.

"I guess I should have brought a set of my own." Delores pursed her lips and set her bags down. George set the suitcase next to them and waited for her to say something. "Since we only have ten minutes, can I get the short tour of my new home?"

"Follow me." George led her around the upstairs, avoiding her room.

"And what's behind that door?" Delores asked pointedly.

"My room." The words were sullen, and she opened the door, letting the other woman peek inside.

"You really do have a terrarium," she heard her murmur, and George felt a lump raise in her throat. "Well, let's see the first floor." Delores backed out of the room and waited for George to join her. Going downstairs, she did a quick once through, focusing on the kitchen and living room.

"We should probably get going. The lines at the DMV are long."

"What?"

"Yeah, we're not really dead. I thought you would have figured that out, since I'm not Millie anymore. The others see us in our new bodies while we see ourselves as who we are. We need to eat, we have to take care of body issues, all that the joys of living, with the add perk of helping mortals shuffle of their coil."

"I thought he was joking about that…" Delores seemed to shrink in on herself, the happy smile she normally wore disappearing from her face. "I'll have to get another job, won't I?"

"Probably. If you can. Maybe you could take up crafts and sell them on the internet. You're good at scrapbooking, after all."

Delores nodded absently and then crossed her arms in front of her. As George watched, a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "Well, let's head out." Even her voice was lackluster and she had to fight to keep her hands at her side, to not reach out and clasp her hand. Instead, she nodded and led her outside, to where Rube waited in the car. Once more, Delores took the passenger seat and George the back.

"Did you get everything straightened out?" he asked as he began to drive.

"So far." Delores spoke in a clipped tone, one George had never heard her use before, and it bothered her. Slumping back in her seat, she stared at the back of Rube's head, not wanting to meet either pair of eyes in the mirrors.

When they got to the DMV, George slumped in one of the hard plastic chairs as Rube and Delores got in line. It seemed to take forever and she tapped her foot absently as she tried to think of ways to avoid Delores when they were together at the house. She didn't want to fight with the woman; she'd grown to like her over the course of their years together at Happy Time.

Finally, Rube came over to her side and took a seat. "Are you ready to head out, peanut?"

"I guess." They stood and joined Delores over by the door. She wouldn't look at George, instead thrusting a picture at her. "What?"

"This is what I look like now, to them." She sounded sad, so sad, and George glanced at the picture. "My eyes are blue…" The woman in the picture looked older than Delores was, sort of like how she looked as Millie. Her hair was red, a dark red, and George smiled a little. "What?"

"You look like someone I'd like to know," she responded without thinking and Delores hrpmhed under her breath. "What? You do." George shut down and handed the picture back to the older woman. Pushing past them, she stalked to the car and threw herself into the back seat. In her head, she knew she was being petulant and childish, but she didn't really care at this point. She just wanted the day to be over.

"We're not going reaping today, peanut," Rube said as he climbed in the car. "Roxy took over your duties for today, and we'll get started fresh in the morning. Use tonight to get accustomed to each other."

She glared at the back of his head, knowing that he was only doing this to make things smooth between Delores and herself. "Whatever."

George tuned out the conversation that Rube struck up with Delores, turning her head to stare out the window. Sighing deeply, she shook her head and blinked rapidly to stop the tears that kept creeping out of her tear ducts. She was not about to let Delores get to her, she was stronger than that. Even if that meant she was going to lose one of the precious few friends she had.

"…I said, do you want me to stay and make supper?" Snapping up to attention, George met Rube's eye in the rearview mirror and nodded. "All right, sounds like a plan, peanut."

"Thanks, Rube." Hesitantly, she glanced over at Delores and saw that she had been crying, too. Their eyes met and she looked away quickly, unable to hold her gaze for very long. It hurt her heart too much. "I suppose it'll be spaghetti. I think that's the only thing I have in my cupboard right now."

"I'll see what I can whip up." She nodded and settled back in the seat once more.

"Reggie wants to come over again soon."

"You know you aren't supposed to have contact with her, George."

"Yeah, well that went out the window with Cameron. She knows what I am, who I am, and I can't just turn that off."

Rube sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing her the picture of his daughter. "If I had interfered in her life, things could have been vastly different, but it would have caused us nothing but hurt. You are doing the same thing by interacting with Reggie. I came back to help you out, since you didn't want to be the leader. You've been doing this for five years now, it is more than time you started to mature mentally."

They both heard Delores sniffle and she looked at the other woman , frowning slightly. "What?"

"Millie, George, whoever, should be allowed to see her sister. Family is important." The sorrow that tinged Delores's voice felt like needles pricking George's skin and she hugged herself, not wanting to do something stupidly rash.

"That's not the way our world works, Delores. I'm sorry."

"Oh." And then George saw her right hand awkwardly slip to the back, her fingers waggling. Unable to not accept the overture, she clasped the hand, squeezing twice before letting go, her heart feeling a little lighter.


	3. Chapter 3

Rube took off shortly after he had helped them with the dishes. Things had become a little more relaxed between the two women and he smiled and ruffled George's hair before leaving. "Take care of her, peanut. I have the feeling that this one, like you, is special."

"I'll try, Rube." He nodded and left and they were alone. "So, did you want to talk?"

"I'd rather not tonight, Mil-George. I think I'm going up to my room." George watched Delores trudge up the stairs. Her heart thudded heavily as she went into the living room and flipped on the television. She couldn't find anything that interested her, and she turned it right back off and lay on the couch staring up at the ceiling. Upstairs, she could hear the shower running and she let her eyes close as she listened to the falling water.

Minutes later, she heard a sharp, harsh, scream. Bolting up, George listened for the sound again, but nothing was forthcoming. She jumped to her feet and quickly climbed the stairs, stopping in front of the bathroom door. "Delores? Delores?"

She waited for some response before trying the door handle. It wasn't locked and so she turned it and opened the door a crack. "Go away!"

"No. I heard you scream and I need to make sure that you're okay. Rube told me to look out for you, and I won't let him down."

"Oh, you mean the way you let me down?" The question was vicious, barbed, and struck home too well.

As George struggled not to cry, she pressed on ahead into the room. Delores was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, a towel wrapped around her body. She tried not to look at the woman as she sat on the toilet, clasping her hands. "How did I ever let you down?"

"I think you know, Georgia." The use of her full name surprised her and she looked up at Delores. Those big brown eyes were sad, so sad, and George felt her own eyes well up. "Don't! Don't think you know what I'm feeling!" Delores stood quickly and pushed past her, heading to her room. George let her be for a few long minutes and then felt herself compelled to check on the woman again.

"Come on, Delores. Rube said we had to talk and work this out," she said to the closed door. She put her hand on the doorknob, only for the door to be yanked open. She took a step back and looked at the woman. She was still angry and her eyes were red rimmed.

"There's nothing to work out, Georgia."

"My name is George. I hate being called Georgia." Her voice was flat, monotone, and she looked down at the floor, not wanting to see the anger and disappointment in her eyes. Too late to stop them, a few tears tracked down her face and from the corner of her eye, she watched Delores reach up and wipe them away. They both froze and George felt her breath hitch. Biting her cheek hard, she tried to stem the flow of her tears.

Delores closed her arms around George, leading her in and over to the bed. They sat heavily and she rocked her back and forth, letting her cry. "I'll remember that, George." Her touch was so comforting and George felt herself relaxing into the woman, relishing the warmth of Delores's body so close to hers. None of the Reapers were especially affectionate, and she had no close friends in her fringe-living life, so this embrace was so very welcome to her. "Shh, George, everything will be fine."

She tried to nod, only to realize that doing so would rub her face in Delores's chest. Instead, she just nestled in closer to the woman, holding on to her tightly. "I never said I was sorry, you know, when I left Happy Time for that day. I didn't realize then how much you cared and how I had just thrown that back in your face."

The hand that was rubbing her back stilled for a moment before resuming the soft motion. "I always had a soft spot for you, Georgie." The endearment startled her, and yet, it warmed her heart. They fell back on the bed and she curled up into Delores, not wanting to lose contact with her. "You always were someone I could depend on."

"I never was the dependable sort when I was alive," she said lowly, tightening her arm around Delores's waist. Somehow it felt right to be here, in her arms, and she let her eyes flutter closed, not wanting to leave this haven she offered.

"I see." George made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. "Well, I'm glad that this is changing now." George nodded and snuggled closer, sleep making the edges of her vision all grey and fuzzy. "I suppose you're going to fall asleep now."

"Maybe, if you were to stop talking. Usually my pillows don't talk. Or, if they do, they aren't as perky sounding as you are." George knew she was being a bit petulant, but she really did want to be getting to sleep and Delores was so soft and comfortable.

"And you're going to stay here?"

"Well, I hadn't planned on it until you pulled me down on the bed. Now, I feel too lazy to get up and go to my own room. Will that be a problem?"

Delores was quiet for a long moment, though she didn't stop the circular rubbing motions on George's back. "I don't think so." George found herself smiling as she relaxed once more in her arms. "If you had lived, what would you have done with your life?"

"Who knows? I had no ambition, really. I was a blank canvas and couldn't find anything worth filling it with. And, I'm sorry to say, that I was no scrapbooker. I just did it to please you."

"I could tell. A lot of our coworkers did that to humor me." George felt her sigh and wondered just how much Delores really knew about what went on behind her back at Happy Time. "But sometimes it is easier to pretend that everything is hunky dory than to face the reality that you're a laughing stock."

There was a bitterness and sorrow in her voice that George recognized, having heard it in her own often enough when she talked to Rube. "You always tried to make me feel welcome, though. I did appreciate that." George yawned, the fuzzy feeling returning to her brain. "I loved that about you, you know. You always made me feel safe and wanted. Not like my mother, or anyone else in my life. Except maybe Rube. He treats me like an errant daughter, though, most times. I want a friend, a companion, someone as loyal as you."

"That's sweet." George felt her press her lips to the top of her head, and she sighed as she closed her eyes. "Now, go to sleep, Georgie. We can talk more in the morning." She tried to nod, but her head was too heavy. Instead, she tightened her grip on Delores's waist, letting sleep steal over her as she nestled as close as she could to her friend.


	4. Chapter 4

When George woke up, she felt cocooned in warmth. Stretching a little, she found her hands encountering soft, giving, flesh. Blinking a little, she focused on who was sleeping next to her. "Delores?" she asked softly, trying to figure out why she was in the same bed as the other woman. Then the previous night came rushing back to the forefront of her brain and she groaned in embarrassment.

The other woman woke up at the noise and looked at her. Her face was still open to George and she saw the confused yearning that was quickly masked by the familiar chipper smile. "Good morning, Georgie. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded, sitting up to wrap her arms around her legs. "I did, thanks. You make a good pillow, what can I say. Now, get dressed, we have to meet Rube this morning." For some strange reason, she hoped that Delores would hug her again, but the mention of Rube seemed to bring her circumstances back to the forefront of her mind.

"Oh, yes, that business." Her words, while still chipper, were closed off and she pulled away from George to scoot back against the headboard of the bed. "Do we have to do that very often?"

"Every day. It's very rare for Death to go on vacation." Delores nodded and sighed. "I'll get ready and see you downstairs in ten minutes." George slipped from the room and padded over to her room. Closing the door, she leaned against it, breathing deeply. This was going to be a rather long day, she could feel it in her bones.

Slowly, she stripped off yesterday's clothes and stuffed them in her hamper before putting on fresh things. It was a Sunday, so she could dress down a little since she didn't have to go in to work. When she had finished dressing, she brushed her hair and impulsively added a headband to keep it from her face. She knew Delores had always liked it when she wore her hair back, and she wanted to make her happy today.

Heading downstairs, she smelled breakfast and she went into the kitchen. Delores was standing at the stove, flipping pancakes, and George smiled happily. "You know, we meet at a restaurant, you didn't need to make food for us."

"It will save us money to eat here. And I need to keep myself occupied somehow."

George nodded and sat on the counter, watching her finish up. She was handed a plate and fork minutes later and Delores took a seat at the table to eat. "So, are there any questions I could answer for you before we head over to the diner?"

"I don't think so. I mean, what is there to know about being Death?"

"That it hurts," she mumbled as she stuffed a large bite in her mouth.

"It hurts?" Delores asked.

"Not in the physical sense. But having to take the soul of someone who shouldn't have to die does hurt your heart. My first murder was the worst thing ever." She sighed and took another bite of food, relishing the delicious taste. "The ones that hurt the most, though, are the children. Our division deals with the deaths that result from murder, suicide, and accidents. At least in our area, there aren't many children murdered."

The slow nod caused George to swallow hard, knowing that she had hurt the woman. "We have to take care of children?"

"Yeah. And I'm not going to lie, it sucks. It's one thing to die at eighteen, another to die at six." She finished up her food and then hopped off the counter, setting the plate in the sink. "Are you almost finished?"

"Yes." Her voice was small and George came up to her side, rubbing her shoulder softly.

Delores looked up at her, her eyes wet. "It gets a little easier with time. And, you'll have me to help you along, even though that might be of little help." George held out her hand and Delores grabbed onto it, squeezing lightly.

"Perhaps it will help more than you realize." The soft look in her eyes had returned, and George felt like she was being drawn in to some secret place that the woman never showed to anyone else. "How are we going to get to this diner? I didn't see a car in your driveway."

George blushed a little. "I found that I really like biking places. Usually that gets me by, or I take public transportation. The diner is within easy walking distance from here." Delores nodded and stood, putting the plate in the sink as well.

Together, they walked out the front door and she locked it before heading down the porch to the sidewalk. George was surprised when Delores reached out for her hand, holding it the entire time their walk took.

Rube looked up at them and smiled as they took a seat across from him in the booth. "Good morning, ladies. Roxy is already out on her assignment, she drew an early post-it note. There's a double for you two today." He handed over two post-it notes to George. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think it should be just us, Rube." George shrugged at his nod and handed over one of the notes to Delores. "Now, these tell us what our assignment of the day is. This is the name of the person…"

"How are we supposed to know who to deal with from an initial and a last name? There could be hundreds of K. Johnson's out there."

"Well, we also get a location to find them at. And a time we have to take the soul by. Roxy likes to wait until after the accident has happened before popping their soul, but, like Rube, I prefer to take them beforehand. It's kinder that way." Delores nodded, a deep frown forming on her lips. "What's wrong?"

"What happens if I just say no? If I refuse to take a person's soul?"

George looked at Rube. "Bad things happen, Delores. I didn't want to take my first soul, either, and let him go to the morgue, welching out on my job. Rube dragged me there and showed me exactly what happens in that case, and I never wanted to see that again. Believe me, I don't want that to happen to you." _It would destroy you,_ she thought.

Delores nodded and took a deep breath. "Well, it looks like I have two hours to find this person. Are we going to head out now?"

There was no enthusiasm in her lackluster voice and George slowly nodded. "Why don't you head outside while I talk to Rube a second?" She slid out and Delores got out, heading outside. "This is going to destroy her," she hissed at him. "Can't you see that?"

"It wasn't my decision to do this, peanut. I'm sorry." And he did seem genuinely sorrowful. That knowledge helped to ease her heart a little, but still, the thought of Delores as a Reaper just seemed so at odds with her personality. "Now go, get out there, and help introduce her to our world."

"All right, see you tomorrow." George got up and joined Delores outside. "Do you know where we're headed?"

"I've been to this park before. It's just across town, so we could catch the bus over to it."

"Okay." They walked over to the bus stop and waited for it to appear. "So, what did you really want to do with your life?" She asked suddenly, wanting to know more about Delores.

"I would have loved to have done something that made people happy. I guess Fate had something else in store for me, even in death." A wry smile passed across her face as she patted George's knee. "There's no stopping you from doing anything you wanted, even in this weird half-life we have. You're so young."

"And we're supposed to live a fringe life. So even if I did want to be a writer, I could never use either of my names. I have to stay in the shadows."

"Oh." The hand on her knee tightened and George keenly felt her heart ache in response. This was going to take her so long to get used to.


End file.
